Volume 1 of 2. In treating this subject, the author has endeavored, for the most part, to exclude all considerations of a purely theological or controversial character, all discussions concerning the origin of the faith in Palestine, and concerning the first type of its doctrine, and to regard the Church simply as a moral agent, exercising its influence in Europe. Confining himself within these limits, Lecky has examined the manner in which the circumstances of the pagan empire impeded or assisted its growth, the nature of the opposition it had to encounter, the transformations it underwent under the influence of prosperity, of the ascetic enthusiasm and of the barbarian invasions, and the many ways in which it determined the moral condition of society.